To switch or not to switch to OBGYN?

I'm currently a male medicine intern at a well-known program in the northeast. While I enjoy the intellectual aspects of medicine, I really like procedures and am not sure if gastro or cardiology will give me the same satisfaction that actually operating does. Other than medicine, I really enjoyed OB as a 3rd year and have interviewed for OB positions at other institutions in my area, including my own. Switching would mean repeating my intern year, which doesn't dissuade me at all -- a year of medicine is gonna help no matter what I do. Switching would mean pissing off and alienating many of my current colleagues, but you gotta do what makes you happy in the end.

Am I being too brash or quick to jump ship? It is intern year afterall.

That being said, I still miss the OR. However, I'm wondering if OB is a good choice being a male. I am VERY interested in the fellowship subs like gyn onc, urogyn or REI, but wonder about the job prospects for males even in these subspecialties. From what I understand, most men pursue fellowships in OB because in this day and age establishing a general OB practice as a male is tough. But what if you're a male subspecialist? Is the job market/opportunites just as wide open as for a male going into any other field?

This isn't going to be the only thing helping me make my decision, but it does figure rather inmportantly. Obviously, the decision is mine to make and mine alone, but wise thoughts about the concept of switching are welcome.

hey there, i can relate to some of your dilemmas. i too a medicine intern in a northeast categorical program who wants to switch into anesthesiology. i told my program director that i was thinking of switching. as expected, he didn't seem thrilled with the idea. i still have not mentioned this to my colleagues and am not anticpating their reactions.

what makes these decisions so difficult is knowing i am a good medicine resident and am respected by those with whom i work. i have much less experience with anesthesiology and hope its a better fit for me. we'll see... best and good luck

just had my VA clinic today, reaffirming my distaste for medicine. while i love the intellectual stimulation of problem solving, i guess i am not into the real life application, as we often don't see the results of what we want to happen. i am only hoping that anesthesia/critical care can continue to provide me enough to satisfy my intellectual curiousities..
e-mail me: [email protected]

Bing an intern whom is going into OB/GYN, I love the surgery, gyn office, and OB(the least) Cardiology is nothing like the OR, trust me!! Doing invasive cardilogy is no where near the operationg skills involved in pelvic surgery.

I have met way more male GYN/ONC, is that because men are more likely to go into the field, or because we have not yet seen the shift to females yet??

I will say this, if you are a good candidate, being a male is an advantage finding the spot you want. Every program I spoke to wanted to find a good male resident. good luck

I wouldn't sell short the skills required to do percutaneous procedures in the heart -- not only are you integrating knowledge of anatomy with the skill of interpretation of imaging, but you synthesize that knowledge with real-time physiology and pharmacology in a patient that is not anesthetized. There is also the manual dexterity required of these procedures. There is a lot going on in a cath lab that you might not be aware of.

Also, you need to distinguish between invasive (diagnostic Cath) and interventional (diag + therapeutic). PTCA, stents, cutting balloons, rotablators -- these are not simple devices. They have a learning curve and require dexterity that must be learned.

While the skill set required of pelvic surgery (or any surgery) is different than that required for interventional cardiology, I wouldn't necessarily say that one is any more difficult than the other. Skills need to be learned, no matter what procedural field you go into.

I think what you need to consider what type of patients and issues you enjoy working with. OBGYN deals with a fairly limited set of problems in (for the most part) young, relatively healthy patients (ex: Gyn Onc). Cardiologists deal with patients who tend to be older, usually have multiple medical problems that impact care in a very complex and involved way and patients can more often than not be very unstable. GI docs usually have a mix, and the problems are a mixed bag as well. However, except for bleeding, their patients aren't necessarily as crumpable.

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